Bible-mindedness: Study ranks Queen City number 6 city for Bible reading and belief

By Andrea Honaker

Published: Friday, February 21, 2014 at 11:22 AM.

Julen said it’s actions and not words on a survey that are important, and he hopes the Charlotte area is positively showcasing Christian beliefs.

“The Bible itself says that the way you’ll be known if you are following Christ is by your fruits and how you act and how you live,” he said. “So, I guess one of the things that interests me is, sure you say the Bible is authoritative and inspirational, but how does that actually impact your [life]?”

Readers respond The Gazette and The Star asked their Facebook fans what the Bible means to them. Here are a few of the responses: “It means direction for my life. It is very important to me.” – Mary Ann Clark “Not like us non-religious folk didn’t know we live right in the Bible belt. And to me, it’s just a book with a few historical references. But I do understand what it means to its faithful, comfort.” – Brooke Brackett “The King James Version means a lot to me. I try to live my life for The Lord and live by the rules he set in the Bible. I’m not saying that I succeed all the time, but I try. Everyone fails at some point.” – Jennifer Mellon “The only book that gives you the beginning and end of this present earth; then, he gives you the option of torment or Heaven. No brainer.” - Eris Smith “The Bible means a whole lot to me because it’s The Word of God.” – Linda Faye Rogers

It seems the Charlotte area has The Bible on its mind. The Queen City has been ranked among the nation’s top cities when it comes to Bible-mindedness, according to a 2013 study by the American Bible Society. It made number six on the list, up from number seven the previous year.

The most Bible-minded was Chattanooga, Tenn., followed by Birmingham, Ala., Roanoke/Lynchburg, Va., Springfield, Mo., and Shreveport, La. The least Bible-minded were Providence, R.I./New Bedford, Mass., and Albany, N.Y.

“I think that it is great that Charlotte is the sixth in the nation,” said the Rev. Eddie Wellmon on The Star’s Facebook page, where a lengthy reader debate occurred on the study results. “The Bible is a Christian’s text book. Every single emotion that anyone can have you will also find in the Bible.”

Area faith leaders had mixed feelings about Charlotte’s high ranking on the list.

Dr. David Julen, lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Cramerton, said he wasn’t surprised, especially considering Charlotte is commonly described as “the buckle of the Bible Belt.”

He said the area has a culture that has always upheld the Bible for authority and inspiration.

But Dr. Alice Cullinan, spiritual enrichment leader for the Greater Cleveland County Baptist Associate in Shelby, was taken aback by Charlotte’s spot on the study.

“I have to admit that I was quite surprised, perhaps because of the statistics I recently heard about the numbers of murders and violent crimes in Charlotte,” she said. “But when I thought about the number of large churches located there, I could better understand why the statistics about Bible reading could be true.”

Charlotte has long been known as “the city of churches.” That began with a spiritual awakening of the 1800s that spread the Bible through the Southeast and spurred the creation of more churches, according to Tom Phillips, vice president of the Billy Graham Library.

“Charlotte is one of those cities where the church has been a pillar of society. There’s a two-century history of the Bible permeating and the principles of the Bible permeating Charlotte,” he said. “The Bible is a guide to live the very best life you can live. I think there is a hunger in the Charlotte area to live right.”

The study addressed the nation’s 100 most-populous cities. Residents were polled on how frequently they read the Bible and their belief in the Bible’s accuracy. Another survey from BibleGateway.com put Charlotte in fourth place but used different criteria, taking into account only overall Bible usage.

Attempting to measure something like “Bible-mindedness” is a difficult task, Cullinan said.

“I do not think these survey questions are valid ways to measure whether people or cities are really ‘Bible-minded,’” she said. “At best, the questions might indicate whether people are reading the Bible and whether they believe in the Bible’s accuracy, but I do not think it is valid to assume that this makes a city ‘Bible-minded.’”

Preston Blanton agreed with Cullinan’s thoughts. “As a Bible-minded city, Charlotte isn’t that super amazing of a place to be,” he wrote on Facebook. “I’m a Christian, and that is great, but having a level of Bible-ness and saying my town is better than your town based on this made-up scale just seems asinine.”

Julen said it’s actions and not words on a survey that are important, and he hopes the Charlotte area is positively showcasing Christian beliefs.

“The Bible itself says that the way you’ll be known if you are following Christ is by your fruits and how you act and how you live,” he said. “So, I guess one of the things that interests me is, sure you say the Bible is authoritative and inspirational, but how does that actually impact your [life]?”

Readers respond
The Gazette and The Star asked their Facebook fans what the Bible means to them. Here are a few of the responses:
“It means direction for my life. It is very important to me.” – Mary Ann Clark
“Not like us non-religious folk didn’t know we live right in the Bible belt. And to me, it’s just a book with a few historical references. But I do understand what it means to its faithful, comfort.” – Brooke Brackett
“The King James Version means a lot to me. I try to live my life for The Lord and live by the rules he set in the Bible. I’m not saying that I succeed all the time, but I try. Everyone fails at some point.” – Jennifer Mellon
“The only book that gives you the beginning and end of this present earth; then, he gives you the option of torment or Heaven. No brainer.” - Eris Smith
“The Bible means a whole lot to me because it’s The Word of God.” – Linda Faye Rogers